Second Chances
by Charlotte Avery
Summary: The Doctor and his new, mind-reading companion realize that the human Doctor is in a perilous state on the Parallel World. With Rose needing rescue, the Doctor must decide if he can make a sacrafice of one thing for another and face Rose's acceptance...
1. Flaws in a Nonexistent Plan

PART 1

FLAWS IN A NONEXISTENT PLAN

The war was over. Won.

The Doctor and Claire sat in the TARDIS with an awkward silence as their only comfort. The battle was finished, and the Doctor knew that his time was up. And in some odd way, he felt comforted by the fact that once again he was alone. Left with nothing but Claire, all he had was the small consolation of ending up with nothing and losing everything.

Claire looked at the Doctor with a worried expression, surely thinking about what they were going to do now. He had no words to say, no hope to give, and certainly no future to look forward to. Claire's eyes barely began to water, but it didn't slip past the Doctor's vision.

"So. What do we do now?" Claire's words were the Doctor's exact prediction. He wasn't sure how to answer her without making everything utterly dismal. He looked up at her and was instantly reminded of Rose by the look on her face; worried, mostly for his well-being.

"I don't know," he finally concluded, pursing his lips and looking away. Claire continued anyway.

"Well, you're gonna change...soon...and I'm wondering if I should just...go." The idea of being completely on his own was so appealing, he almost shooed her out right then and there. Her gift had caused him enough trouble already.

"Nah, you're fine. I'll be the same person I've always been, just a bit of a different look. Physically." Claire's previous readings and notions had already given her this knowledge, but humans always needed reassurance and explaining it probably helped her nerves a bit.

"Doctor...s'there something bothering you?" Claire said, tripping over the domestic nature of the question. Personal levels were usually a boundary he'd never crossed until he met Donna, who was always asking questions about people and places of the past.

"To be completely honest," he said, pausing and watching as Claire nodded in understanding, "There's always SOMETHING bothering me. And right now, just about every 'something' is at work on me 'bout now." The TARDIS went silent again, and Claire stared awkwardly at her feet. Often times, she didn't have an answer to the Doctor's responses.

"Doctor-" The Doctor looked up and watched his quivering companion who looked like she was in cold sweat or something.

"Claire, you alri-"

"I'm fine, but I'm worried about you. There's a lot you don't talk about, and I saw that...Donna, it was, and I was wondering if she was, you know..." The Doctor, although clueless most of the time, managed to understand what she was pointing to.

"No, no. We weren't...together, if that's what you mean." Claire sighed, strangely relieved. The Doctor's eyebrow arched I'm confusion.

"Ha, thought she was a little...not your- type?" She laughed nervously. "Well anyway..." The Doctor faked a smile and slumped a little farther in his seat.

"But there's someone. Doctor. There's someone else. She's the something that's bothering you." Claire's sight kicked in quickly, giving her the odd silver gleam in her eyes that gave the illusion of a metal iris. But then, just like that, it was gone. "Doctor, please. Let me see." Her eyes widened in a puppy-dog innocence and she clasped her hands tighter together to keep them from going to straight to his temples. The Doctor gave her a grim look and then looked away as she sighed.

"Doesn't matter. Not anymore." The Doctor stated.

"Obviously it matters enough. There's something...wrong. I can see it, Doctor. I'm not daft." Claire gently took his face and turned it towards her. "I wanna feel it, too. You can't always be alone in pain, Doctor." He exhaled a breath of consent and turned the rest of his body towards her. She put her two fingers on his temples as the Doctor did sometimes, and let the memories melt into her fingertips.

There was a blonde, pretty and coloured by her bright smile. There was a man in a leather jumper and large ears-who she soon recognized as the Doctor-who grabbed her hand and led her from a mannequin infested basement. Memories of a Lady Cassandra, glowing Gelth, Slitheen, murderous Daleks, gas-mask people, and the words Bad Wolf rushed through her head as the girl, whom she'd figured to be named Rose, and the Doctor ran about to save each world.

Then came a regeneration, a hospital, a stolen kiss, werewolves, a devil, and an almost confession. There were ghosts who unmasked as Cybermen, more Daleks, and then a void.

The picture of this void was clear and sharp, and Claire could tell that this was important. He sent the blonde home, but she came back, only to get whisked into the void and caught by her father in the last second before being taken back to a parallel universe. They were then on beach and she told him she loved him but he was gone before he could return the favor. They were both in pain for several years and she watched as the universe cracked down and they were brought together again.

Then there was the beach again. Bad Wolf Bay. A second Doctor, almost identical to her Doctor aside from the blue apparel, stepped in with his human heart and claimed his Rose by finally confessing his feelings. It was terrible to feel the emotions that ran through these moments, and as much as Claire tried to accept it, it was all too much. She was only human, after all.

Claire's hands dropped from his face and she looked at the Doctor, her face stretched in pain and horror as one last thought passed into her.

Claire put a hand over her mouth and looked down with a quick sob. She wasn't quite in tears, but completely in shock. She looked up at him, her eyes wet, and inhaled deeply.

"You knew all along. Didn't you?" Claire whispered as if people were listening. The Doctor swallowed and sank deeper into his seat. After several silent minutes, he nodded. He could tell by Claire's reaction that it was a bad idea to let her feel his emotions so openly. He'd revealed about four years of his painful past, and the amount of feelings that went into each memory was surely too much for a human to handle.

"Doctor. I never thought...couldn't even begin to think. But now I can see. I can feel you, your hurt." Claire said. She looked up at him innocently. "There must be some way you could...?" The Doctor shook his head, taking a deep breath.

"The walls have closed. For good this time. If they open again, we're gonna be in a hell of a lot of trouble," the Doctor explained, abruptly standing up, putting his hands in his pockets, and walking around the consol of the TARDIS. Claire stood up next to him.

"But Doctor, there's a way. And you knew it all along! I saw it, in the back of your mind. In a door you thought you closed. Doctor, you can't just let this go. You can't leave her on her own!" The Doctor's head shot up and his quizzical face replaced the serious one.

"What? How'd you even begin to see that? That's beyond you," the Doctor questioned.

"It's that Cascade. Medusa Cascade. That's right. I saw Doctor, there's a way into her world. What is it? Too dangerous for you? Cause if I remember right, you just about stare danger in the eye every other second!" Claire's voice escalated. These emotions were controlling her and he was starting to regret allowing her in.

"Claire, it's not just dangerous, it's too, too-" The Doctor said through his teeth and then looked away. "Painful. You saw, she'll get old and die one day, right in front of me. I can't. Not to mention, it won't be long before I change. She wouldn't even recognize me." Claire wasn't about to give up.

"But you said you wouldn't leave her behind. You left her on some ruddy beach with a carbon copy! How's that fair to her, Doctor? Don't get me wrong; I'd normally blow this off, but it's my pain too now, and I'm not gonna let her get hurt!" Claire shouted.

"You think I wanted this to happen? The first time she got stuck was bad enough, but leaving her with somebody else that wasn't myself wasn't exactly my idea of closure. The last thing I need to do is blunder in (and possibly die in the process) last second as someone else and watch her wither away, every single day. I couldn't do that to her."

"But he's dying, Doctor! He has a direct line to your thoughts and you're just ignoring him while he's screaming at you! Your human...clone couldn't survive without Donna's connection. Once you wiped her mind, you took away half of the metacrisis and he's not even gonna last a few days!" Claire heaved, out of breath.

"Ha, you think I don't know that," he hissed, choking back tears. "There's so many flaws with going back. First being the current in the Cascade. Sure, if I get through, I'm in the web that links all the universes together, but it's a shot in the dark trying to find the right one. I'll have regenerated by then and I'll be someone else to her. I won't be her Doctor anymore. Don't you see Claire? There's no going back. It's wrong." Claire stepped forward, putting her hand on top of his.

"But there are things you're avoiding," she said much quieter, "Things you don't wanna even think about because you're afraid of the outcome. Like the vortex. Doctor, if she sees it again, she'll be strong enough this time to take it. She'll live forever, she'll always be here with you. Forever.

"And me. I've seen enough. I have all this energy from every reading I've ever done. I could help you. I could give my energy to you; you'll heal and stay the same. You know that." The Doctor's eyes widened and he glared at her with a crazed look in his eyes.

"You'd kill yourself." Silence.

"Doctor, do you remember that first night you found me? What was I about to do?"

"I don't see how that-"

"What was I about to do, Doctor?" she demanded to know. The Doctor gave her a stern expression.

"Kill yourself. Suicide." Claire grasped his hand tighter.

"But this time, I can do it for something. For someone other than myself. I won't have to be selfish; I can help you." The Doctor suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Can't you see? This is my habit. I fashion ordinary people like you into weapons just like he said and they all end up dead. Trying to save ME. But I'm not going to let that happen anymore. I won't."

"But you don't know why, do you?" Claire asked him quietly. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "People die in your name because you're important. You have something worth living for and this universe couldn't survive without you. People die for you so you don't have to. People die for you because they love you." she said. And with one big, sad smile, she said:

"Now. Let's save Rose."


	2. Finding Rose

PART 2

FINDING ROSE

Switches, levers, and buttons. He hit them all. If they were going to successfully get into the interuniversal web, then it was going to take a lot of power and even more courage. Perhaps more than the Doctor had. How could he fly off into space knowing that while he'd be saving one person, he be executing another?

Claire seemed calm and quite easy-going as far as the plan went. They would fly into the web through the crack in the Medusa Cascade right as 23:59 hit. It was when the unverise formed a hairline fracture and created a current running into the web which was about when the Doctor estimated that he would change. Claire would transfer her energy to him and he would then continue on to search for the right universe.

And to make it all that much harder, it all had to be done in 60 seconds.

"Ready?" piped Claire. The Doctor looked at her and after a long, serious expression, he nodded.

"Alright. We're now flying right into the heart of Cascade. What time is it?" Claire glanced at her watch.

"Hmm...11:50, which would be...23:50. We've got about nine minutes," she said gladly with a grin. The Doctor sighed and continued to fly the TARDIS.

Several minutes had past, and soon they were at their destination, floating around a burning orange and pink nebula with stars speckling its vicinity. The Doctor flipped one last switch and then flopped backwards onto the seat. Claire joined him.

"You don't have to do this Claire," the Doctor murmured. Claire looked up swiftly and clenched her teeth, staring off into space.

"Don't have to. Never said I did. I want to, and you can't tell me I don't want to do this." She fought a fair fight, but it still didn't seem quite right just giving her up for his own selfish reasons. "I've been inside your head, Doctor. All the creatures, the battles, the losses. And just when you think you've seen it all, another tragedy just comes up and hits you in the face. It's not a life worth living." The Doctor's puzzled face returned.

"And when I say that, I mean on your own. No life like this deserves complete...independence," she said, trying to find the right word.

"But I've got you. You're quite brilliant, you know," the Doctor beamed with a smile. Claire frowned.

"But she's got no one. Well, she did, but now she's on her own. Don't you think that's a bit, I don't know, tragic?" The Doctor looked away. "Back home, I've got nothing. No one to go back to, not a single aspect worth living for. I'm dispensable."

"Don't say that. No one's dispensable." he cut in.

"Alright, not 'dispensable,' but I certainly can't do accomplish much else back home. It'd be a useless attempt." Every word was mulled over in silence and Claire carefully smoothed out her blouse as if everything was casual and dandy. "I'll be fine. Got some friends and family up there that I'm dying to see," she joked and then stood up.

"I won't forget you, Claire." The Doctor stood next to her and took her hand. She looked into his eyes and held back a tear.

"We're going on 23:58, Doctor," she said quietly. He nodded, ran to the console, and continued to flip switches, press buttons, and pull levers. As the time ticked, Claire came up to the Doctor and entwined her arm in his. What better way to die than with the superhero of the universe?

"Here we go!" shouted the Doctor, looking at Claire with a big grin. She smiled back, but not with quite the enthusiasm. "Alright, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,-"

"Blastoff! I've always to say that," Claire yelled over the noise.

The TARDIS twisted and turned, sending them flying. They felt a big whoosh of air, and then fell to the ground with a thud as everything froze. They both got up quickly and Claire stood in front of the Doctor, hands ready.

"It was wonderful knowing you, Claire." the Doctor said with a smile. She smiled back and he gathered her into a big hug but hastily released her for their lack of time.

"You too, Doctor." Claire placed her fingers on his temples and with everything she had, she breathed every atom of her life into as he began to glow and pulse with the signs of regeneration. The energy flowed from her fingers into his very bloodstream, the golden glow slowly disappearing with every second.

As Claire gave one last push, her hands dropped, and she fell to the floor. The Doctor stumbled back, threw one last glance at his companion, and watched her fade out of existence, leaving him in an empty ship once again.

He rushed to the controls, staring at his screen to search for a reading of some sort. He had about 40 seconds and there was no time to waste. He monitored the fragile pulses and beeps across the screen and within another precious 14 seconds, the TARDIS located the correct portal to slip through into Rose's world. He pressed, hit, yanked, and slid the gears as he locked in the coordinates.

And then he was sailing. Sailing through the web, and through the crack to the parallel universe. A grey sky greeted him as his ship pushed through the clouds. It definitely wasn't a normal landing, but then again, this entire situation wasn't exactly normal either.

He landed a few streets down from the Tyler's house and apparently sometime around Christmas. The snow was falling and holiday decoration lined the streets in all sorts of colours.

A sudden and most random thought came to mind: what if they had moved? He shook it off and ran down the street. He arrived at the large mansion where he spotted Mickey walking through the front door, a large puffy coat getting in his way. As he got closer, he spotted Jackie in her snow gear out back, watching a little boy crawl around the yard, trying to eat snow. Pete was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Rose.

Although he was completely without a plan now, he ran up to the house, took a deep breath, and ducked behind some nearby shrubbery to gather himself. What was he going to do now? If the human Doctor was dead and gone, it would definitely be quite a shock for him to come up and casually ask to see Rose. If he got seen by anyone that had known him, people would cause a fuss, and it might just go downhill from there.

But being him, and the human Doctor WAS him, then he wouldn't make friends to very many people. Especially someone that was like...her? A random passerby, for sure, this woman with bright red hair gave off the "I-had-a-bad-day-talk-to-me-and-I-just-might-kill-you" vibe. It wasn't the type of person that he would even consider making friends with. He stood up, brushed himself off, and strolled up to her quite casually.

"Exscuse me, miss, I've a got a question. Got a second?" the Doctor said amiably. She looked at him with a annoyed smirk on her face.

"What?" she asked rudely. Ah. Scottish.

"Do you know someone named Rose Tyler?" Her face glowed with an odd excitement. The subject must have interested her. She must be the town know-it-all, he guessed by her attitude.

"Course I do. Not personally, never even seen her, but it was big news when the head of that big company, Pete found his wife and daughter. Said they went missing years ago and when they came back, the mum, Jackie was pregnant and all was happy go lucky.

"But I really feel sorry for that Rose, an' all. Poor thing. Said she had a fiancé and they were gonna get married sometime this month, but he suddenly had a heart attack last week and gave up the ghost. It all sounds a bit fishy, if ya ask me, but hey. Who knows these days." The Doctor's hearts dropped. They were engaged? Another thing he could've never given Rose. Once again, he shook away the thought and turned back to the woman.

"Yeah, but do know where she lives?" The woman lifted a brow.

"And who are you then, to be stalking the poor soul?" she scoffed, hands on hips.

"I'm a very old friend. I, um, heard about her fiancé," he managed to choke out the word, "and thought I'd come and visit."

"Hmm. Lemme think. Well they say she's been hidin' out in some ol' dingy place called the Powell Estates. She's kinda famous because she's the daughter of a big fig'er, but they never even show her face on the telly. But they manage to follow her around. Tabloids an' such." she said lightly. The Doctor secretly smiled. They still had a Powell Estates, even here. And Rose was there.

"Thanks, miss, er..."

"It's Amy Pond. And you're welcome." she said, waving him off as walking away. The Doctor ran down street after street, finally arriving in front of the familiar apartment building, graffiti plastered to every wall and paint peeling. He stared at the nostalgic arcitecture and then ran inside.

He ran up hundreds of stairs, letting his fingers kiss the yellowing stucco of each wall as he passed. He noticed every detail in grandeur as moments of the glorious past ran through his head and Rose smiling in each one of them.

He finally scooted to a stop in front of her door and inhaled, his nerves fried. He remembered all the attempts to domesticate him here in this tiny apartment, Jackie constantly trying to cook for him and have him stay over for a drink or the occasional party. Next to the TARDIS, this was definitely his home, I'm every way humanly possible. Just as he lifted his fist to knock on the splintering door, he heard someone down the hall approaching. And they were crying.

The Doctor turned around slowly just in time to see her, a paper, car keys, and a purse in her hands. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, especially in the glow of the falling, white snow and so perfectly human, tears and all.

He didn't smile, he didn't move. Her face was buried in her hands, the moisture seeping through her fingers and onto the small stack of papers she was holding. She was quite far down the hall, but the Doctor saw her clearly drop everything and then slump against the wall, sliding to the ground in a heap. Her hair was a bit frazzled, and her dark makeup was falling down her cheeks. He felt close to breaking by just watching her like this.

He walked towards her quietly, but she didn't seem to notice with her face shoved between her knees and the sound of her own crying. The Doctor stood in front of her, knelt down, and picked up her things.

"Thanks," she croaked through her knees, the sound muffled. As he was about to hand it all to her, his eyes caught onto something he didn't want to see.

A photo of the human Doctor, putting a ring on her finger.

The Doctor gently gathered the objects in his hands, looked up at Rose, and held them out to her. She shook some of the tears away, her finger tracing away a drop beneath her eye and her head slowly rose, her jaw dropping.


	3. Forever is a Long Time

PART 3

FOREVER IS A LONG TIME

Eyes wide, hearts pounding, and adrenaline peaking, the Doctor and Rose simply stared back at each as if it was like staring at an outrageous photograph. Rose squeezed her eyes closed for a minute and then opened them again as if expecting a different image. She crawled to he knees, kneeling like an innocent child. Her hand slowly reached out and with the lightest touch, her fingers brushed the skin of his cheek and she quickly retreated the safety of the wall, her breathing labored and an occasional tear still escaping.

"Rose...listen, I'm not-"

"Can't be..." she interrupted, gaping at him. "That's just...impossible." Her voice sounded far away yet her expression and fixation on his face was so focused. This was the part he feared. The part where complications seemed to fly in at every angle.

"Rose, you've gotta listen-"

"Must be dreaming," she cooed, lying to herself. Content with her own cover story, she breathed what he misinterpreted as relief and instead, he watched as she broke down into a mild fit of tears. "I must be mad!" she cried, burying her head in her hands and then gripping her hair at the roots. Not sure what to do, the Doctor reached out, but quickly recoiled, realizing that there was no hand to hold and she certainly wouldn't want to, whether or not her hand was available to hold.

"Rose; please hear me out," the Doctor murmured. Silence. That was more like it. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was once again prevented.

"You left me, you know. When you died," she said, cradling herself. "Left me to deal with your mess. Left me to deal with this." She held up her ring-finger where a tiny diamond glistened and the Doctor wondered, What mess was she referring to? "And now I'm sitting on a balcony, talking to my dead fiancé." she laughed sarcastically and began massaging her temples.

The Doctor wanted to say something, something to make her feel better, but he knew that it wasn't his place. Especially since her impression wasn't of a Timelord having dropped out of space, but a human man with some apparent baggage. Also, he wanted to avoid being interrupted for a fourth time.

"Oh, Doctor. I'm insane." she stated, wiping a runaway teardrop from her jawline. "I didn't wanna marry you, you know. All those other girls. I knew about them and this was just a- a mask. Marriage was all you could think of to cover it up? Please. I'm not stupid," she growled through her tears. "And what are you then? Angel? Demon?" she said, poison injected into her voice.

Baggage indeed. The Doctor couldn't even imagine himself, let alone his human self going off with another woman other than Rose. But the way she spoke...he could see she still loved him. But this casual talk of relationships and marriage was not his area of expertise. It made him feel too common and he felt wedged between a different gap; reality and a dream world.

"Rose, I'm not who you think I am," he finally managed to say. Rose rolled her eyes with a fake and sarcastic smile, anger and pain lingering in her eyes.

"Right. Never get real answers, do I? Explains why this would've never worked," she said, gesturing to her ring again. "I really must be crazy. Completely mad." Rose got on her knees again and leaned forward, her eyes searching his blank expression for some sort of answer. Her fingers reached out and slid across his cheek, moving down and slowly dropping off from his lower lip. He gazed at her with an idiot's face; a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm crazy," was all she said before placing her hands on his cheeks and closing the distance between them.

She closed her eyes, pulled him in, and kissed his frozen lips, locking herself to him. The Doctor's eyes, still open, widened and then closed with her. He dropped all the things that he had picked up for her and let go. He tasted the salt of tears as his hearts fluttered and then he reminded himself that he wasn't him. As much as she tried, she couldn't get him to respond. It was already too complicated and he couldn't kiss her back. She thought that he was her human Doctor: sinful, one-hearted, and so...human. It was a stolen kiss, and once again, he felt too human. Too vulnerable.

Her hands traveled down to his jaw, then to his neck, and finally stopped at his chest where she froze.

He had been found out.

His racing hearts pounded beneath her hands and she tore herself away from him. She looked into his brown eyes, completely bewildered.

"Impossible." The Doctor swallowed uncomfortably, still recovering from the kiss. This wasn't how he planned it to go, but obviously Rose had seen enough ridiculous things to make the outlandish assumption that he was a ghost of her dead Doctor. He switched into logic mode and cleared his throat. Someone had to take authority.

"I'm not your...human Doctor, Rose. I'm me. Two hearts, TARDIS, and all." he explained quietly. Rose's mouth was still wide open. "I made a promise. I said I wouldn't leave you and so I came back. It's me, Rose." he added when she still seemed a bit weary of his explanation. All she could do was shake her head in disbelief.

"But that's...impossible," she repeated, her hand feeling both of his heartbeats again. Seeming partially convinced, she managed to speak. "You- you came back." She gently placed her forehead on his, wrapping her arms around his neck. They sat in silence, enjoying the warmth of the contact, and then Rose leaned her face in farther, lips almost touching.

"Kiss me." The Doctor, again feeling strangely human, paused, not sure of what to do. If he obeyed her request, it felt as if perhaps all hell might break loose and he'd be swept away like he'd woken from a dream. He moved in, letting their lips brush. He could feel her waiting, the heat overpowering. Just as he cocked his head to the side, closed his eyes, and lightly pressed his lips to hers, the sudden burning of the TARDIS key in his suit pocket made him growl in pain.

He pulled away, her hands falling off of his shoulders, and he reached in his pocket to pull out the glowing key. He tossed it from hand to hand as if he was playing hot potato and finally pulled his sleeve down in time to hold it through the fabric. Disappointed by the Doctor's ability to get out of intimate situations, Rose sighed and looked away.

"I've gotta go. The gap- the gap I came through, is going to open soon. I'll have to leave...unless, you know, you'd want to come?"

"Yeah," she answered quickly with an awkward laugh. She ran a hand through her hair. She had come so close...

"But, thing is, you can never come back." The Doctor looked at her sternly, relaying the message of how serious this was. Rose looked at him with doubt lining her face. "Your choice." he said. He stood up, bringing up all of her spilled belongings with him. She quickly clambered up next to him and swallowed.

And then he was afraid. What if she decided not to? He couldn't bear to be turned down. Especially since he had come this far...

"I don't care. You're not leaving me this time," she replied firmly. The Doctor handed her all of her things and she pursed her lips with the smallest smile. "I've lost one thing; I'm not about to lose another." Rose took her belongings.

"So...erm...do you have to, um, get your things together?" the Doctor asked awkwardly, pulling at his earlobe with his free hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be, um, right back. Unless you wanted to, you know, come in?" she answered, equally as embarrassed. He shook his head quickly.

"Nahhhh, I'll just wait. Here." She nodded and walked down the balcony and stopped in front of her flat. She turned the key, gave him one last longing glance, and stepped inside. He let out a sigh of relief.

Soon, he and Rose would be back to traveling together and things would be absolutely perfect. Except for one thing. He'd have to tell her. He'd have to ask her to look into the heart of the TARDIS again, grant herself life just like she'd done to Jack, and live forever with him. And when he really considered it, it resembled a proposal. He was going to ask her to elope and be with him forever.

He shook his head. It wasn't like that. It was two friends, very best friends, who wanted to travel with each other every day for the rest of time.

AKA, a proposal. He couldn't shake that thought.

But more importantly, what would he tell Rose about the reality and lying to her about it sealing off? And even more important than that, what on earth would he tell Jackie? That stubborn woman was probably even more unpleasant being a mom all over again with a husband to deal with and any story might set off the bomb that always seemed to be ticking inside of her. "Hey, Jackie. I'm the inhuman Doctor with the TARDIS and I just wanted to let you know that I came back because I'm going to take your daughter away forever and she won't be coming back. Oh, and by the way, have a lovely Christmas!" It just might be disastrous.

After a few minutes of thinking things over, he heard a door open, and turned around to see Rose pulling behind her a suitcase and holding a large bag. She walked up, threw the bag at him to catch, and gave him a weak smile that made him catch his own breath.

"As rediculously impossible as this is, I'm coming and there's no way you're leaving me this time. You've got a lot to tell me, Doctor." Hearing her say his name was a relief and he smiled, setting the key on top of her bag. He held out his hand and they entwined their fingers just as they had done so long ago. She stared at their locked hands with an odd expression, as if something didn't quite fit, and disreguarded it to look at him.

"How long we got?"

"'Bout 30 minutes. Enough time to drop off your things, run to your mum's, and come up with a story." She gave him such a large grin that he felt his heart might melt.

"Then what are we waiting for?" she said and began walking.

"Allons-y!"


	4. Allonsy!

PART 4

ALLONS-Y!

"Goodness, Mickey! I told you to keep an eye on Toni!" screeched the familiar shrill voice Jackie Tyler. The Doctor rolled his eyes. He had yet to meet Toni. And he wondered if Rose would miss her new brother...

There was a running hose out front in the hands of a toddler and Mickey was just now pulling himself up from a lawn chair where he'd been sleeping. Jackie was wiping a terrible shade of orange paint on her pants and running up to beat Mickey to it.

Instead of dropping off Rose's things at the TARDIS, not only did he want to take time on the "welcome back" when they got to the TARDIS, but figured that by showing off all of her luggage, that would already explain a good portion of their story. On their way here, they had planned out most of their "completely innocent" story for Jackie and Pete, who didn't even seem to be home.

According to their tale, the Doctor had come here by a complete accident (which they were hoping would pass as reasonable) and landed smack in the middle of the Powell Estates. Rose saw the TARDIS, ran down, and fiercely begged the Doctor to go with him but he explained to her that if she went, she'd never be able to come back, but she insisted, saying something along the lines of "there's nothing for me here" which she had said before. It was a long shot, but defintely worth a try since it had taken this much effort already.

"Oh Toni, you're completely soaked!" Jackie shrieked, grabbing the hose and throwing a warning look at Mickey who was rubbing the nape of his neck awkwardly, not daring to pick an argument. She picked the boy up and bustled inside, Mickey following like the child that was in trouble. Rose laughed at the scene.

"Gonna miss this..." she said sadly, her smile fading. The Doctor squeezed her hand tighter and nudged her lightly to make things lighter in mood.

"So," the Doctor began, as they came to the front of the gates, "do you see your brother often?" Rose raised an eyebrow. The Doctor? Asking a personal question and not asking of what she thought about a new wiring circuit in the TARDIS? Different, but certainly not bad...

"Not really. I feel like my mum and dad have kinda started over with him. A separate family. Not that they leave me out, they've just got a little kid on their hands and don't always have time to call me up. It doesn't help that I live somewhere else, of course, but I think that it's better if Toni just grows up without all of my 'drama.'" Rose chuckled, putting her head on the Doctor's shoulder. He open the gate with his sonic screwdriver and Rose gawked at it.

"Gosh, haven't seen that in a while," she breathed.

"What, my human self didn't make one?" he questioned, a bit confused.

"Firstly, you're talking like you're the same person-"

"Well..."

"Trust me. You would be much easier to tame," she mumbled, moving a piece of hair from her face. They arrived at the front door. Rose rang the doorbell. "He didn't have time for sonic screwdrivers. Just time for..." she trailed off and the door quickly opened.

First, there was a scream. Then, there was hideous orange paint covering the Doctor, dripping from his coat. And to top it all off, he was shoved backwards, stumbling over a crack in the concrete.

Hello Jackie.

"Mum! It's fine, it's alright, it's just-"

"My goodness Rose! Either I'm dreamin' or we buried someone else at the funeral! Who the hell is that?" she shouted, pushing the Doctor again.

"Joy..." the Doctor muttered beneath his breath. Jackie seemed to be hyperventilating, Mickey was calling for Jackie's help, and Toni was screaming in the background. Rose took control and pushed her mother out of the way and pulled the Doctor behind her. Jackie set the bucket of paint down and they all scrambled into the giant parlor, and sat down. The Doctor made a large squishing noise as he sat, getting paint everywhere. If Jackie hadn't been practically dying on the other side of him, she might've killed him for ruining the sofa.

"Oh. My. Gaw-"

"Mum! Calm. Down. Please." Rose said as if she were talking to a disobedient child.

"Calm? I mean I've seen crazy stuff about time an' robots an' flipping ghosts, but ghosts of dead people? I don't think so! It was a week ago I watched that man get lowered into the bloody ground! And who the hell is that?" she repeated angrily, throwing her hands in the air. Rose bit her lips and looked at the orange Doctor.

"Mum, this is him. The...real Doctor." Rose said after a moment of silence, only to have another pause follow. Jackie, still breathing heavily, finally noticed her screaming child as Mickey walked in holding Toni.

"Listen, I can't get 'im to stop fussin'; he just-" Mickey stopped in midsentence, eyes widening as they landed on the Doctor. "Holy...that can't be!" Mickey said quietly, almost dropping poor Toni. Jackie took her son and cradled him, stopping the screaming.

"Mickey the Idiot!" the Doctor drew out sarcastically and sounding bored. Mickey's jaw dropped and he pointed a finger at him only to start stuttering. The Doctor gave him a small, mischeivous grin.

"Both of you, listen;" Rose said authoratively, "This is the inhuman Doctor and he's here with the TARDIS. He fell out of the vortex and ended up here." Rose explained nonchalantly. Jackie looked up from Toni and seemed unnaturally quiet for her usual self. Mickey had finally come to sitting down, but his mouth still slightly dragging on the ground.

"Hello," the Doctor eventually said, before things became too awkward. "She's right. The human Doctor is still gone, but I'm here by mistake. Complete accident really, see, there was a disruption in the exosonic waves and just as the electrical particles-" the Doctor said but Rose put her hand on his arm to stop him. He was playing the lie quite well, but Rose knew it was already enough.

"I'm gonna leave with him." The room went completely dead silent. No noises from Toni, no stuttering from Mickey, and not even a single snide comment from Jackie who's face still looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Just silence. The quietness was overwhelming, and Rose decided to continue with the rest of her statement. "Thing is, I can't come back. I'm leaving. Forever." Jackie's brow furrowed angrily and she set Toni down who ran up to the Doctor, sitting on his lap. He grinned at the small boy, but quickly turned his attention to the puffing Jackie.

"You think that's gonna fly? Say some fancy words and then show me your bags?" she hissed, gesturing at Rose's luggage. "You can't just leave! Torchwood'll kill ya if you quit! And what about me? I barely get to see ya anyway with you hanging in your flat all the time and your father you've barely known for two years? And Toni! He needs a sibling!"

"And me..." Mickey muttered sadly. But no one barely reguarded the fact that he'd even spoken.

"Mum, you'll be fine. You've started a new family with two people that will do just fine without me. And since you never see me, it's not a big change. I'll call if that makes you feel any better. And Mickey...you'll always be my best friend. But like I said, oh such a long time ago; There's nothing for me here. Sure, Torchwood encounters some aliens here and there, but I haven't even seen 'em up close! I have to, Mum. I've gotta," she pleaded. Jackie put her hands on her hips and then broke out sobbing, covering her mouth.

"You can't just leave," she cried.

"Oh Mum." Rose got up and gave her mother a big hug. Meanwhile, Toni was cuddling up to the Doctor and babbling incoherent baby talk right in his ear, making the Doctor smile widely despite the fragile moment. Mickey cupped his mouth and then bit his nails nervously, suddenly jumping up and joining the hug. The Doctor sighed. They didn't have much time...

"Rose..." the Doctor uttered in warning. She broke off.

"I've gotta go. I'll call whenever I can. But I won't see you. Again." Jackie let a new set of tears spill over and Mickey wiped away a few of his own.

"Do you have to?" she squeeked.

"What else am I gonna do? He's gone and now I've got the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of me," Rose replied. A lifetime...the Doctor wondered how he would bring up the entire immortality thing. Oh well. It'd come up eventually.

"Thanks Jackie, for..." the Doctor managed to say, standing up and putting Toni down. "Everything." A thank you. Words he thought he'd never say to Jackie, but knew it was the least he could for taking Rose away.

"Can't believe this..." Jackie said. "I'm gonna have to tell your father when he gets home from work. It won't be pretty." It was a statement that released them and at the same time made Mickey hold his breath. "And you're welcome, Doctor. And you take great- no, perfect care of her. If I get a call about another death, I swear I'll find a way to find you and I'll strangle your little-"

"Mum!" Rose shouted with a smile. "We'll be fine! Don't worry! I'll miss ya, and...I love you. Both of you." Rose pulled them into another hug and the Doctor, although glad it had gone so oddly well, grew impatient. They had about 7 minutes before time was up.

"Rose, we've really gotta go." Rose nodded and let go of her mother and best friend, wiping tears away. She walked over to Toni and picked him up.

"I'll miss you, you little trouble maker. Wish you could remember me...but I'll call. Always." She gave her little brother a kiss on the nose and he giggled. After setting him down, Rose backed up, took the Doctor's hand, and waved goodbye to everyone as they began their way out the door, luggage creaking behind them.

"Bye, Rose!"

"Bye."

"Bah!"

The farewells quickly were shouted continually as they made their way to the gate. Rose continued to wave and soon, everyone was out of sight. Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand tighter, feeling the excess paint squishing through their fingers.

"Mind telling me how you'll get this out?" Rose said lightly, her sadness quickly fading away. She gestured at his paint coated clothes.

"Mind telling me what your mum was doing with orange paint?" the Doctor asked. Rose grinned.

"She was painting the kitchen. Most terrible colour I've ever seen, but it's a project she's been trying to get around to without worries of a baby, but now that Toni's older, he's actually even worse to do that around. He gets in the way a lot more than a crying newborn would've." The Doctor chuckled and Rose put her head on his shoulder, melting into him and at the same time covering her right side in paint. She was so happy, she could care less.

"So how did you really get here? What happened to this reality sealing itself off forever?" Rose questioned, her words and mind obviously far off somewhere. The Doctor's brow furrowed and he pursed his lips in thought.

"Well, there had always been a way, but I just never bothered to try. Extremely dangerous." Rose looked at him quizically.

"Too dangerous? Then why'd you come back? And at a convenient time, I'll say," she muttered, referring to her late fiancé. The Doctor leaned his head on hers a little bit.

"Well, about the time...I knew he was going to burn out before he did. I had to wipe Donna's mind because there couldn't be a human-timelord metacrisis and it was burning up her brain. By doing that, I wiped out half of the metacrisis and your human Doctor couldn't survive without that connection, no matter what world it was coming from.

"So a...friend of mine," he managed to choke out, "convinced me to come back for you." He struggled through the sentence, not wanting to go into detail about her sight and the sacrafice.

"Aw, Doctor! You've traveled with other people? I'm not so special after all," she jeered, elbowing him lightly. When he didn't smile, Rose noticed. "So, your friend...where are they?"

"She had to leave." Rose could see it was a touchy subject, and decided to leave it alone. They walked in silence for the next several yards, and finally walked up to the large, inviting blue box. A grin immediately spreading across Rose's face and within a few seconds, she was digging around her pockets. She revealed a small key and presented it to the Doctor proudly.

"Never got rid of it," she boasted, sticking the key in the lock with a quick turn. The two dragged the luggage inside and with each step, Rose got more excited. It'd been months since she had seen the golden glow of the TARDIS, it's bright blue-green center shining like a beacon.

"Oh..." Rise marveled, putting her hands over her mouth. The Doctor shut the door and watched Rose with a smile. Rose turned to him.

"Thank you, thank you!" She sprinted down to him, arms wide open. In her attempt to envelop him a warm embrace, she knocked him against the door and painted both of their faces in a fiery orange. He wrapped his arms around Rose, putting his chin on her head. He never wanted to let go.

"Goodness, it's been an eternity," she mumbled into his shoulder. They stood like that for what seemed like hours, but then the Doctor realized they had about 2 minutes. He quickly shook her off, threw his soiled coat on the railing, and ran to the controls. "Almost forgot! We've gotta get out of here!" He messed around at the console while Rose walked up and sat down comfortably as if she'd never been gone.

The clock ticked down and they began laughing with excitement. "See, it's dangerous because if we get stuck in the inbetween space that lies in the middle of the universes after the time limit, we'll be reduced to dust. And I definitely didn't come here just to kill you off," The Doctor joked. "Hold on!"

Rose grabbed onto the nearest available object as the TARDIS lurched and shook. An inaudible "Ha!" rolled off the Doctor's lips, the very ground beneath their feet shuddering. After another minute of earthquake action, there was a thud and it seemed they were finally in their universe. Their world.

"Are we...?"

"Yes." Rose ran up and gave him a hug that didn't knock him down.

"Wow. Didn't think I'd see a Zeppelin-barren sky in the rest of my lifetime," Rose piped. "So...mind if I get myself cleaned up?" The Doctor nodded and they both went off to scrape the orange from their skin and clothes.

They met again in the main room, and they both flopped down on the couch with sighs of relief. She put her head on his shoulder.

"Doesn't look like I can really go back to my house, huh? List if the dead, yeah?" she murmured tiredly.

"Yeah. Looks like your stuck above ground." The Doctor said with fake disappointment.

"Well then. As far as the future goes, then I'm glued to this ship. For the rest of my life," she said as if it were a wedding vow. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. He knew he'd have to bring up somehow, and this was a perfect oppurtunity.

"Rose..." He felt like he was on a ledge.

"Hmm?" The Doctor took a deep breath.

"About the future...I wanted to ask you something."

And with that, he jumped.


	5. The Lonely Traveler

**Alright: 2 things. I am VERY new to this site and only figured out that fanfiction existed a little while back. So this is not only my first fanfic, but my first introduction. Would someone kindly explain to me what the terms A/N, AU, and OC mean? Ah curse my lack of fan term knowledge…**

**Secondly, I don't feel the need to do disclaimers. If we all owned Doctor Who, there would be no need for fanfiction. And yes, this is the last chapter of my first story and "motra" pointed out in the comments some flaws such as Mickey's random existence when he should be in the other world and the inability to make calls to other universes. Thanks for the update! But since I failed to notice, just treat it like its part of the story since I'm too lazy to fix it! Anyway, thanks for all the lovely comments and I know this was a long intro, but enjoy the final chapter of SECOND CHANCES!**

PART 5

THE LONELY TRAVELER

Rose sat in shock, her eyes wide and heart pounding. Was it worth dying for? Even if it was only for a minute, could she bring herself to live beyond her own family? And who was this Doctor, not wanting her to go; not wanting death take nature's course but stay forever with him? What if they decided to go back? The Doctor had made it so easy to come back for her and family visitations didn't seem like a death-imposing act. She mentioned this to him.

"Rose, the only reason I think I didn't die was because I had...incentive. One wrong move, and we're crushed. It's not as easy as you would think. Going back to your world would not only make it easier to get back in forth because of our persistance, but because of continuous universe-hopping, we'd be tearing a wider gap in that entrance. We've already damaged the hole enough and it'll take hundreds of years to rebuild itself. That's why I was afraid of using it in the first place; I had no idea when it'd last been used, but I made a decent guess that no one really had quite the tools or brains to do it," he explained. "Going back brings both worlds closer to it's demolition. It's...out of the question."

He didn't want to be rude, let alone hurt her feelings, but he wanted her to understand every consequence of the choice she had made. Although this conversation was a bit delayed...

"So what you're asking is if maybe I, well, I don't know, might wanna live forever?" she said completely sarcastically and irritated. "I mean, I knew I'd be traveling, but not for, forever! Not that it's a terrible thing, but do you understand how strange it is to just outlive everyone you know? Have them die before you even get your third laugh line?" The Doctor watched her as she got up and circled the console in her frustration.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"I know what it's like. To watch everything die, to see everyone I've ever loved or known pass on. I've had to live through generations of death after death. I think you're forgetting how aged I really am," he said darkly, looking up slowly. "Which is exactly why I'm suggesting this. I've been through enough loss. And I never want to lose you."

As easy as the words came, they seemed to stick in his throat. This conversation mimicked the same one they'd had outside of the shop with Sarah Jane and Mickey. Only this one lacked the company but mirrored the same point. He felt he was always on the edge when he made promises. How many times had he promised he would save someone only to watch them die? And when he said he'd never leave Rose, he witnessed her losing her grip on the lever just to be pulled into the Parallel World.

He didn't want to give false promises, but spoke his mind. He never wanted to lose her, but felt that someday he'd watch as she died on some barren moon or right in his arms. And that's where his promise would melt into thin air.

"But Doctor...wouldn't the universe...explode or something?"

"What?" he said in a high, inquisitive voice.

"Well you know when I saved my dad and those creatures came because you said there was one more person alive in the world that wasn't there before, wouldn't that work the same for me?"

"Well, you haven't exactly had a prevented death date, and it's not like you're really part of any events on earth. You'll be like me," he chirped cleverly, "a lonely traveler. Only landing, never staying. So; what do you say? Life with me forever. Doesn't sound too bad, does it?" Rose thought for a minute and walked over and looked at him with a big smile.

"Better with two?" The Doctor grinned back.

"Better with two. Molto Bené!" He took her hand and pulled into a big hug. She turned her head to his once more.

"Wait, it's almost like you're asking me to mar-"

"Aaaaalright then!" he interrupted with a shout. Rose stood with her mouth open and frozen. Dang, he was the best at avoiding things. He put his glasses on and ran to the other side of the console, poking at the controls with a new energy. "Just have to set a few coordinates and make a few adjustments. Shouldn't be long." He suddenly looked up at her, scrutiny creeping into his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure you want to-"

"Yes!" she said with fake annoyance and ran over to him to lace her arm in his. He smiled and continued to press buttons and type things in. It seemed like forever and Rose had wondered if it would've been easier just to get a giant truck and do what she'd done the first time.

She was scared about the future. I mean, didn't he get bored not knowing that there was no end to anything? As scared as she was, she was also completely excited and mad. She had no idea what she was doing, and defintely no problem with accepting the consequences. Why? Oh yeah. Because she loved him. And anything he did or anywhere or went, she was sure to follow all because she was completely in love with this lonely traveler. And that was that.

"Alright. It's ready. Now the question is: Are you ready?" Rose paused and then nodded surely.

"But will it hurt like it did before? All that information...swimming in my brain, will it hurt?" The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and put his feet apart slightly.

"Like I said when I first suggested it. You'll have about 40% immunity and if you transfer the vortex back into the heart quickly enough, you shouldn't feel any pain. Simple as that. Now all you have to do is imagine every reason that you want to live forever. Bring yourself to life, basically. If that makes sense. And then will yourself to stop. However, if I have to transfer it like I did last time, it will damage me and I'm still healing from...well, anyway, and I WILL regenerate. So good luck, and be quick!" he explained quickly, stepping back. But Rose stepped forward, standing only inches away.

"I'll still be...myself, right?" she said quietly.

"Yes. You'll be the same person, just with an eternal lifespan," he replied, beaming. But he saw something else in her eyes. He then noticed her hand clenched behind her back, evidently holding something.

"Now it's turn to ask you something." Rose looked down at her feet and then up into his eyes, taking his hand.

"Anything," he concurred, swallowing. She turned his hand over, holding his palm out. She pulled the hand from behind her back and placed it in his palm, slowly unfurling her fingers. And then he felt the cold metal hit his hand.

Her ring.

She moved her hand, unveiling the silver band with the medium-sized diamond embedded in the surface, sparkling each time any light hit it. She closed his fingers for him around the small jewel and gave him a tiny smile.

"Would you?" He took off his glasses and stared at her, dumbfounded and surely wearing the face of an idiot. She giggled and wore an expression that said, "I'm waiting."

Propose? Marry her? Well, this is exactly what he got for suggesting they live together, forever. He clenched his teeth, his nerves reacting like he'd injected himself with caffeine. It was all so fragile, marriage. But he realized that it wasn't such a bad idea...

Wait. He shouldn't be thinking like that! He'd been married before and certainly didn't know what they'd do about...why was he thinking about that? Curse his wondering mind!

But when it came down to it and he stripped it of all its worldly meanings and symbolism, he realized that spending forever with Rose Tyler with matching rings wouldn't be a sin or a curse. But a miracle. A timelord and a human. Utterly miraculous. It made him recognize the wonders of the galaxy and all the impossible things that were so possible to the point that the world made no sense. And that was his reasoning. That was all he needed to know that by saying yes, he was for once, making a promise he could keep.

The Doctor took a deep breath and took her left hand. She grinned.

"Rose Tyler. I've never had a single doubt about you. I knew from the very start that you were completely fantastic!" She laughed. "And with this ring, I think that I'll be proving my point," he said, emphasizing the 't'. He held out her fingers and slid the ring on. "Rose Tyler. Will you marry me?" Rose pulled him closer.

"Yes. Till death, oh wait. That doesn't quite work..." she said, looking far away in thought. "Okay; till the universe breaks down." The Doctor put a hand on her cheek and pulled her in all the way, their lips meeting.

He kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone else and moved his hands to her waist as she threw hers around his neck. And just when Rose couldn't quite breathe, they broke away, chests heaving with adrenaline. He kept her close and leaned in, his lips at her ear and his voice in a whisper.

"I love you, Rose Tyler. Till the universe breaks down." And with another large hug, they set off to make Rose "eternal material."

And in that moment, forever didn't seem quite long enough.

• T H E E N D •

마무리


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